NEW YORK — When it first signed on, CNN was greeted by a chorus of skeptics.

There was, of course, doubt about Ted Turner’s vow that his all-news network would be there long
enough to cover the end of the world. But a bigger question resonated: Was there really enough news
to fill 24 hours of airtime, day after day?

As CNN observes its 34th birthday this month, a harsh truth endures: No, there isn’t — at least
not enough to get viewers to stick around awhile. The flow of news doesn’t conform to the needs of
TV programmers, with irksome stretches when nothing much is going on to satisfy the visual demands
and keep viewers glued to the screen.

CNN was able to finesse the dilemma in its early years because it had no cable-news competitors.
Then new arrivals MSNBC and Fox News Channel faced the same problem. But each packed its schedule
with hosts who could fashion news into opinion — opinion that would guarantee its like-minded
audience a reassuring hour-after-hour TV refuge.

Meanwhile, CNN clung to Turner’s mission statement that the news, not any news presenter, was
the star.

But the network has goosed its schedule with so-called “original series” from promotable
personalities such as Anthony Bourdain, Lisa Ling and Morgan Spurlock in the hope of making some
noise and audience inroads.

In the midst of that sizzle offensive, however, CNN got a lucky break: the tragic March 8
disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

CNN crafted an obsessive narrative of missing-airplane coverage — breathless “Still Missing”
news alerts, rounds of analysis and rank speculation, and any other flight-related filler it could
think of.

Meanwhile, CNN continued its crusade to gin up must-see programming “events.” The latest: a
10-part documentary series,
The Sixties, that premiered on May 29.

But the ’60s isn’t news. It hasn’t been for decades. Thus, CNN is diluting its signature role as
a news provider.

CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, however, insists that news coverage drives the network.

But the question remains: Can CNN stay true to its putative core mission and still find a loyal
audience?